Casting Off

Finally to the end point of all the “Have to do Projects” from maintenance to acquisition!  It got to the point where the list had to be broken down into three parts, the things that had to be done, the things that could be done under way and the things that are not going to get done. If this type of approach along with an in cement deadline wasn’t taken leaving the dock would never happen, because when something came off the list either Pat or I had a new “something” to add (or something broke…)

The boat is officially ready all the safety and navigation projects have been taken care of and there is still a nice list of things to do during the trip. It’s a boat . . . There’s always a list.

From house lists to boat lists the dead line has arrived to cast off.  

The first day, late morning Wednesday, June 24, we will catch the outgoing tide North to Port Townsend. Probably the following day, we’ll cross the Straights of Juan De Fuca through Haro Straight to Sydney on Vancouver Island, checking through Canadian customs and immigration.

The next part of our trip will take us up through the Canadian Gulf Islands through Dodd Narrows:  Our first narrow pass to navigate. During the trip North, we will negotiate our way through many of these narrow channels with currents at times in excess of 10 knots. That’s about 11.5 mph which would be too fast for a 38’ sailboat.  It will be important to follow the local tide tables and plan transits around slack tide – the time between the incoming flood and outgoing ebb tides. Nanaimo (on Vancouver Island, East side) will be the jumping off point to cross the Straights of Georgia to Desolation Sound and points North.

Although we don’t have specific dates, or a hard-and-fast schedule, there are certain places we have planned stops such as Sydney & Nanaimo. All other stopovers will be based on how we feel, weather, points of interest what we want to do, see, etc. This is one of the benefits of a flexible schedule (and being retired)!

We will be posting weekly updates, plus or minus a day or two here and there. It will depend on when we are in town to have internet access.

It’s great to finally be under way, stay tuned! 

Making sure the Outboard engine crane works as advertised

We are taking two Advanced Elements inflatable kayaks with us. They deflate into a storage bag which is never as small as you would like.

They work well for an inflatable.

Pat  Kayak testing in Elliott Bay 

 Elliott Bay Marina.